airsupply

Graham Russell & Russell Hitchcock met on May 12, 1975, the first day of rehearsals for “Jesus Christ Superstar” in Sydney, Australia; they became instant friends with their common love for The Beatles and, of course, singing.

After the shows’ performances at 10:30, they would play pizza parlors, coffee bars and night clubs with just one guitar and two voices. They quickly gained a reputation for great harmonies and for original songs that Graham was constantly writing. They made a demo on a cassette of two songs, “Love and Other Bruises” and “If You Knew Me” and took it to every record company in Sydney. Everyone turned it down but one — CBS Records — who admired their unique style.

They made a single in one afternoon and it shot to number one on the national charts. Air Supply was born! That same year, they opened for Rod Stewart across Australia and then throughout the U.S. and Canada playing all of the famous huge venues before Rod would take the stage. They found new fans, but did not break the U.S. market.

Back in Australia they had to start again and made a record called Life Support. On this record were some treasures of songs, including “Lost in Love” which went Top 10 in Australia and somehow found its way to music industry executive Clive Davis in New York.

Clive immediately signed Air Supply to Arista Records and in 1980, “Lost in Love” became the fastest selling single in the world, leaping to the top of all of the charts. Now Air Supply was on their way. The second single was “All Out of Love,” and that went up the charts even quicker.

Seven top-five singles later, Air Supply at that time had equaled The Beatles’ run of consecutive top five singles. The albums Lost in Love, The One That You Love, Now & Forever, and The Greatest Hits sold in excess of 20 million copies. “Lost in Love” was named Song of the Year in 1980, and, with the other singles, sold more than 10 million copies.

The trademark sound of Russell Hitchcock’s soaring tenor voice and Graham Russell’s simple yet majestic songs created a unique sound that would forever be known as Air Supply.

However, it is the live shows that always hold audiences captive around the world. They were the first Western group to tour China, Taiwan, and countless other countries that before would not allow pop music across their borders. In 1983 they recorded “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All” by Jim Steinman which solidified the group as a permanent force in modern music. This song was released on The Greatest Hits album which soared past 7 million copies.

“Lost in Love”, “All Out of Love”, “The One That You Love”, “Sweet Dreams”, and “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All” have each achieved multi-million plays on the radio.

In 1986 the group’s music was still playing endlessly on radio. That same year, Graham was married to actress Jodi Varble from Rochelle, Illinois, who also was his leading lady in the video for “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All.”

Air Supply began to tour with lavish productions in places that no one had been before. In South America and Asia they became a part of everyone’s life. In 1988, Air Supply was asked to participate in Australia’s bicentennial celebration and to play for HRH Prince Charles and HRH Princess Diana, where they learned both were already ardent fans. This engagement would be one of their most treasured moments in their career.

In 1989, they recorded “The Earth Is” album selling over a million copies outside of the U.S. This album was followed by “The Vanishing Race” CD and, with the singles “Goodbye” and “It’s Never Too Late”, again saw multi-platinum success. The following albums, “News from Nowhere”, “Yours Truly”, and “Across the Concrete Sky” all gave their second greatest hits album multi-platinum status as they traveled the world each and every year.

In 2000, a new production company was founded to be devoted to Air Supply’s entire future product, called A Nice Pear, which gave them complete creative control.

In July 2005, their live DVD, “It Was 30 Years Ago Today” celebrated 30 years of success around the world and in that same month, Air Supply smashed attendance records when, in Cuba, at one show they played to 175,000 people. Also 2005 saw the release of “The Singer and the Song”, an acoustic album of many of their big hits which received critical acclaim.

In May 2010, the long-awaited album, “Mumbo Jumbo” –also the duo’s first studio recording in eight years- was released. Recorded at Graham Russell’s home studio near Park City, Utah and at Odds On’s state of the art facilities in Las Vegas with top session musicians and an orchestra, “Mumbo Jumbo” was produced by Russell and engineered by Odds On’s Sean O’Dwyer, whose credits include Pink Floyd, Randy Newman and Blink-182. Among the 14-tracks, released by Odds On’s label, was the first single “Dance With Me,” which earned Air Supply a prominent feature article in Billboard Magazine titled “Still Supplying The Hits After 35 Years.”

Just weeks after composer and vocalist Graham Russell was honored with a BMI Million-Air

Certificate recognizing 3 million performances of the duo’s hit “All Out Of Love,” Air Supply’s new song was the #1 most added track on the FMQB AC40 Chart, and also one of the most added on the R&R (Radio and Records) AC Chart and the Mediabase AC chart.

In 2011, the duo continues to play more than 150 shows a year worldwide, including stops in England, Ireland, Israel, Philippines, Korea, Japan, Canada, the U.S. and beyond.

Currently, we just finished filming our live Jerusalem, Israel show for a new DVD that will be out later this year. The DVD will feature two new songs, “Sanctuary” and “Everywhere.” “Sanctuary” will be released as a single on iTunes by October, 2011.

Words and picture from the official website.

Selected Discography

Air Supply

Arista Records 1985

Tracks: Just As I Am, The Power Of Love (You Are My Lady), I Can't Let Go, After All, I Wanna Hold You Tonight, Make It Right, When The Times Is Right, Sandy, Great Pioneer, Black And Blue, Sunset & Never Fade Away.


Musicians on the Air Supply album: Russell Hitchcock, Graham Russell, Howard Ayee, Ian Bloxsom, Jeff Browne, Peter Deacon, Mark McEntee, Jeremy Paul, Graham Pearce & Adrian Scott.

Now And Forever

Arista Records 1982

Tracks: Now And Forver, Even The Nights Are Better, Young Love, Two Less Lonely People In The World, Taking The Chance, Come What May, One Step Closer, Don't Be Afraid, She Never Head Me Call & What Kind Of Girl.


Musicians on the Now And Forever album: Russell Hitchcock, Graham Russell, Ralph Cooper, Frank Esler-Smith, Rex Gohs), David Green & David Moyse.

The One That You Love

Arista Records 1981

Tracks: Don't Turn Me Away, Here I Am (Just When I Thought I Was Over You), Keeping The Love Alive, One That You Love, This Heart Belongs To Me, Sweet Dreams, Who Am I, I Want To Give It All, I'll Never Get Enough Of You, Tonite & I've Got Your Love.


Musicians on the One That You Love album: Russell Hitchcock, Graham Russell, Ralph Cooper, Rex Goh, David Green, Frank Esler-Smith & David Moyse.

Lost In Love

Arista Records 1980

Tracks: Lost In Love, All Out Of Love, Every Woman In The World, Just Another Woman, Having You Near Me, American Hearts, Chances, Old Habits Die Hard, I Can't Get Excited & My Best Friend.


Musicians on the Lost in Love Album: Criston Baker, Ralph Cooper, Russell Hitchcock, David Moyse, Graham Russell, Frank Esler-Smith, Tommy Emmanuel & Sam McNally.

Life Support

Wizard Records 1979

Tracks: Give Me Love, Looking Out For Something Outside, Lost In Love, I Just Like The Feeling, More Than Natural, Just Another Woman, Bring Out The Magic, I Don't Want To Lose You, Believe In The Supernatural & Believer.


Musicians on the Life Support album: Russell Hitchcock, Graham Russell, Mike Bukowsky, Tommy Emmanuel, Frank Esler Smith, Geoff Oakes, Cos Rosso & Peter Walker.

Love & Other Bruises

Columbia Records 1977

Love And Other Bruises, What A Life, Feel The Breeze, Who Will Love Me Now, Do It Again, End Of The Line, Ready For You, Empty Pages, Does It Matter & That's How The Whole Thing Started.


Musicians on the Love & Other Bruises album: Russell Hitchcock, Graham Russell, Tony Berg, Joey Carbone, Jeff Eyrich, Chuck Findley, Jim Horn, Jimmy Horowitz, John Jarvis, David Katz, Rick Lotempio, David Luell, Steve Madaio, Jeremy Paul & Ross Salomone.

The Whole Thing´s Started

CBS Records 1977

Tracks: Teach Me To Run, Do It Again, Do What You Do, There's Nothing I Can Do, Ready For You, That's How The Whole Thing Started, Love Comes In, The Answer Lies, It's Automatic & The End Of The Line.


Musicians on the Whole Thing´s Started album: Russell Hitchcock, Jeremy Paul, Graham Russell & Adrian Scott.

Air Supply

Rainbow Records 1976

Tracks: Feel The Breeze, I Don't Believe You, Empty Pages, What A Life, Secret Agent, Weight Is My Soul, Love And Other Bruises, It's Not Easy, We Are All Alone, Strangers In Love & Ain't It A Shame.


Musicians on the Air Supply album: Jeff Browne, Russell Hitchcock, Mark McEntee, Jeremy Paul, Graham Russell & Adrian Scott.

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